Sorry for being too lazy to experiment rather than ask but I have a question on how the SB-600 (or Sb-800) work in conjunction with the newer bodies like the D2 series or the D200.
If you are shooting with matrix metering and have an off center subject that varies in brightness from the rest of the scene and you select a corresponding off center focus point ( which stays over the subjet when you pull the trigger) does the flash need to be locked? I mean does the flash consider the active focus point or not? I would expect that if it takes the selected focus point into cosideration then you don't have to worry about FV lock as it will meter the subject under the focus point but if it doesn't - then it needs to be done with the subject in the middle of the frame, a FV taken and locked in and then you recompose and shoot, right? So how's it work?
I noticed that my SB800 has a mind of its own on my D70s. The flash determines exposure for the closest object to it regardless of what the camera focuses on or what metering pattern is used. When I am shooting groups of people and I want to expose for the person not nearest the camera, I usually use the bounce feature and take several shots. I noticed that although the camera focuses on the center subject, the flash (if pointed direct) exposes for the closest subject. Maybe there might be some new level of communication between the D200 and the SB800, I don't know.
I know what you are talking about. My experience is the same as snegron's in that there doesn't seem to be any relationship between the selected focus point and flash output regardless of metering mode. I've asked Nikon tech support about this and after several exchanges got no where. (Maybe it's classified and they thought I was a Canon spy. )
The best thing to do us use FV lock. After locking in the value you can re-compose, zoom in/out, or change aperture. What you can't do however is change the flash-to-subject distance.
Thanks Garry and snegron. I was hoping that was not the case as it would be faster to work in some cases if it were based off the focus point. I couldn't find anything in the body manual but the flash manual that I'm just starting to read now seem to allude that it works as you've just said it does.
)